Chapter 2 – Horses Make Me Happy
Hadley – 16 years old
T he first day back in school after spending the weekend crying over my so-called best friend and the love of my life hooking up at the party on Friday night, has filled me with so much anxiety. I didn’t go to the farm either. I got Dad to call Trevor and explain I was ill. Dad knew it was a lie but didn’t push me on it. It’s affected me so much this time. I’ve seen Luke with girls; I’ve seen him kiss girls. But she’s my best friend .
Lilly will hunt me down today, no doubt, and want to talk. She turned up at my house on Sunday, but Margo got to the door before Mum and Dad and told her to go.
Luke and Lilly tried to call me over the weekend, and I ignored both. I blocked Lilly to make sure she got the message that I don’t want to talk.
Margo seems to think it was revenge on Lilly’s part because I’d cockblocked her so many times. I’d tried to explain to my sister that I pulled her away from guys because I knew one day she would regret it. I just wanted what was best for her.
Maybe that was the reason. Maybe it wasn’t. But I’m not ready to find out her reason.
Making it through half of the school day was easy. I hadn’t bumped into either of them. Luke did text me an “ are you okay? ” message during my first lesson, but I left him on read and turned my phone off.
“Hey, you coming to sit with me or you gonna stand there staring into your pie all day?” Margo asks as she bumps my shoulder on the way past.
Shaking my head, I nod. “Yes, please.” It’s almost a whisper, but Margo hears me and gives me a sympathetic smile.
We take a seat at a free table in the lunch hall, and I do a quick scan of the room, hoping I don’t see Lilly or Luke. I note the exit as well just in case I need to do a quick getaway.
“So, I have something you might want to hear,” Margo says just before taking a huge bite of her sandwich.
“If it’s about Friday night, I don’t wanna hear it.”
“Yeah, thought that might be the case but—” Luke drops down into the seat in front of me. I stare at him for a beat before dropping my head down to the table. I’ve barely eaten all weekend, and the pie did look appealing until he joined us at the table.
“Are you feeling better, I tried to call you.” I whip my head up and stare him down. He seems taken back; his brows drawn together. “Trevor said you were sick this weekend.”
Is he this dumb?
“ I’m fine, you can leave now,” I say, stabbing the fork into the centre of my pie.
“Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”
Only devoured my so-called best friend’s pussy a few nights ago , I’m tempted to say, but I keep my response simple.
“No.”
“Tigger, look at me.” His finger comes into view, and he pushes my chin up with it.
His expression is a mixture of confusion and hurt.
Tears brim my eyes, and I bite my lip.
“What did I do wrong?”
Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse, Lilly chooses this exact moment to appear. She stands to my side, as if waiting for permission to sit down. “Hads, can we talk, please?” Her voice is needy and grating every single nerve I have left.
Memories of Friday night flood back, and my heart rate picks up, so I stand abruptly, needing fresh air and to get the hell away from them both. I knock over my glass of water in the process, and it spills all over Margo’s food, and she shouts, “Fucking hell, Hadley!” at the top of her lungs, making everyone in the hall turn in our direction. Panic rises again, and I rush out of the lunch hall and dart around students to get outside.
“Hey Tigger, wait up, for fuck’s sake,” Luke calls out, but I sprint out of the school gates before he can catch up to me.
Funny thing about emotions, in the moment, you forget about the consequences of what you’re doing. Then, later on, when the rational part of your brain kicks in, you’re met with the error of your ways, and my error was leaving school. When I got home, I received a lecture of a lifetime from Mum and Dad about leaving school without informing anyone. The you could have been kidnapped or died conversation.
I decide to take a nap in the hopes it will regulate my emotions somewhat, but just as I’m on the brink of a wonderful slumber, Dad comes into my room.
“Trevor called; wants to know how you’re doing?” His voice is gruff, no doubt from all the shouting at me earlier on.
I roll over to face him. “What did you say?”
“Told him you where okay and you would be going over to the farm tonight to help out for a few hours.” He has a smile plastered across his face.
“You did what?!”
“Look, kid, you are much more fun to be around when you’re doing something you like. Working on the farm is good for you. So, you’re going to go over there and de-stress, okay?”
I can tell this isn’t up for discussion, and knowing my dad, he will have a plan B up his sleeve to make me go. Luckily for me, Luke doesn’t work during the week. Going to help out tonight means I won’t have to see him.
“Fine, you’re right, horses make me happy,” I grumble my way to my wardrobe, pulling out some black leggings and an oversized hoodie to put on. Dad sits on my bed for a moment before he announces he will let Trevor know I’m on route to the farm.
Please don’t be there, Luke.